The proposed pilot study will investigate the impact of decentralization of nursing care units upon unit level changes, altered job attitudes and perceptions of nurses and the retention and attendance behaviros of nurses. The affects of decentralization may be moderated by unit and individual attributes; therefore, these factors are taken into account in the research design. Using three experimental and three contrast nursing care units, the effects of decentralization will be examined. The proposed pilot research utilizes a longitudinal pretest--posttest design. Data are collected via a series of questionnaires. Multi-variate techniques will be used to analyze the data.